1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in the first instance to a sealing element which is used when feeding at least one elongated object such as wire, strip foil, or bundles of wire through the wall of a vacuum apparatus. The sealing element comprises at least a tubular casing that can be attached to and sealed in the wall of the vacuum apparatus and which has an inside cross-sectional area that is larger than the cross-sectional area of the elongated object.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a sealing element for application with a wire is known from the Dutch patent application 8602661 or European patent application No. 0266818 of the present applicant.
In said application a sealing element is described that can be fitted into the wall of a vacuum apparatus. The sealing element has a casing the length and the free surface of which are dimensioned in such a way that the leakage of ambient air into the interior of the apparatus is reduced when feeding a wire through so that the pumps connected to the vacuum apparatus, which have a normal, sufficient capacity, are well able to attain and maintain the required vacuum.
It has been found when applying such a known sealing element that the required length of the casing can be so long that major practical difficulties are encountered when leading a wire in at one side of the apparatus and leading it out at the other side. This procedure is necessary, for example, when the wire ruptures. The time it takes to lead the wire into one side of the apparatus and out the other side has a detrimental effect on a good production process.